Google Removes Anti-Abortion Ads Deemed Deceptive

Google has removed ads placed by pro-life groups after it found the ads violated its policies.

The ads placed by so-called “crisis pregnancy centers” were found in searches for abortion clinics and provided links to groups that try to discourage women from seeking abortions. Google acted after Naral Pro-Choice America claimed the ads violated the search company’s policy against inaccurate advertising.

Google’s action represented “a victory for truth in advertising and for women who have been targeted by a deliberate misinformation campaign,” said Ilyse Hogue, president of Naral in a press release. The group researched Google ads for “abortion clinic” in more than 70 U.S. cities, and found that 79% of the ads referred to crisis pregnancy centers that “don’t provide or refer for abortion care.”

Google’s move is “ridiculous,” says Carol Tobias, President of National Right to Life. “Pregnancy resource centers offer free services to women who aren’t sure what kind of help they want or need.”

The dispute highlights Google’s tricky task in policing some types of advertisers. “It’s not uncommon for advertisers to try and run ads that aren’t directly related to the search in question,” says Danny Sullivan, founding editor of Search Engine Land.

Google reviews ads for relevance, clarity and accuracy using a combination of automated systems and manual review. Where it finds violations, the company said in a statement, “we’ll take the appropriate actions — including account disablings and blacklists — as quickly as possible.” Google said it removed 350 million “bad ads” from its systems in 2013.

In the case of the abortion-clinic ads, a Google spokesman said the ads removed were inaccurate, because they claimed to offer a service that wasn’t offered by the advertiser. The spokesman said Google has not removed all ads for crisis pregnancy centers.

For example, Naral cited an ad found in a search for “abortion clinics escondido ca.” The ad read “Free Abortion Clinic CA.” The web page to which the ad linked was posted by 40 Million and Counting, a pro-life non-profit organization that does not provide abortion services. The ad did not appear Tuesday in a search for those terms. A spokeswoman for the group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

By contrast, some ads about which Naral complained have not been removed. One, from a clinic in Savannah, Ga., advertised a “women’s clinic” that offered “free abortion consultation.”